Varsity Clown Gym
2023-03-27 20:00 - 22:00, 2023-03-20 20:00 - 22:00, 2023-03-13 20:00 - 22:00, 2023-03-06 20:00 - 22:00 (America/New_York) | Clinton Cameo Studios, 307 W 43rd Street, Studio A, New York, NY, United States
WHAT: This is an advanced class designed for performers and folks with prior experience. We want to dig in. Each class features a warmup/game and individual and/or small group exercises. Wear movement clothes, because we get sweaty. You must register in advance to attend.
WHO: You qualify if you’ve:
Attended at least one full season of Clown Gym
and/or
Had intensive clown study, for instance a Bayes summer intensive or a month or more of Gaulier
and/or
A degree in performance, which included clown/mask study
and/or
A lot of live performance experience.
Not sure? Email me at julia@clowngym.com.
COVID PROTOCOLS: You must be vaccinated and BOOSTED against COVID-19 to attend Clown Gym. Plan to wear a mask the whole time and we’ll decided week to week about the details of mask wearing for solo/duo/small group work. Please only attend if you’re feeling well.
WHERE: Clinton Cameo Studios, 307 W 43rd Street in Midtown Manhattan.
HOW MUCH: The sliding scale cost of each workshop is $30-$50, to be paid in advance of class.

Tuesday Night Clown Gym
2023-03-21 19:30 - 21:30, 2023-03-14 19:30 - 21:30, 2023-03-07 19:30 - 21:30, 2023-02-28 19:30 - 21:30, 2023-02-21 19:30 - 21:30, 2023-02-14 19:30 - 21:30, 2023-02-07 19:30 - 21:30, 2023-01-31 19:30 - 21:30 and 3 more dates
WHAT: Each class features a warmup, group games and individual and/or small group exercises. Wear movement clothes, because we get sweaty. You must register in advance to attend Clown Gym.
WHO: All experience levels are welcome and encouraged. You’ll be challenged and have fun.
Follow us on Instagram or Facebook for up to date news about teachers.
PRICE: sliding scale, you chose between $25-$40.
COVID Protocols: You must be vaccinated and BOOSTED to attend Clown Gym. Masks must be worn while entering and moving around the building. In the studio: masks will be worn. The group will decide if solo/small group presenters can remove masks. Please only attend if you are feeling well.
WHERE: Clinton Cameo Studios, 307 W 43rd Street in Studio A.
REGISTER

Red Nose Clown Intensive with Julia Proctor
2023-03-11 10:00 - 2023-03-12 17:00
DETAILS:
When: Saturday March 11th and Sunday March 12th from 10am-5pm, with an hour lunch break.
Where: Clinton Cameo Studios, 307 W 43rd Street Studio A in midtown Manhattan
Cost is on a sliding scale, you choose the amount between: $225-$275.
WORKSHOP DESCRIPTION:
During this weekend intensive we’ll play with the red nose, the smallest mask in the world, to help reveal more of the messy, joyful, courageous and funny parts of your artistry. The goals of the weekend are to give joy and pleasure more value in your work, to explore what wearing the red nose does to your body and imagination, to match the scale of your physical and emotional impulses to intention, to play with less stress and self-criticism, to enjoy the comic problem rather than solve it, and to surprise yourself as a performer.
ABOUT JULIA
Julia Proctor (she/her) is a performer, educator, and community builder. As the Director of Clown Gym, Julia oversees all programming and operations, which includes weekly classes, monthly coaching sessions, weekend intensives, shows, community events, and the new Clown Cohort: a year long mentorship for aspiring clown teachers. During the early pandemic she co-produced and hosted 20 “Do the Virtual Clown Shows,” which were a source of creativity and joy for a growing community around the world.
Julia earned her BA from Middlebury College and MFA from Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Academy for Classical Acting. She has studied with some of the most prestigious clown teachers in the world including Philippe Gaulier and Chris Bayes, with whom she completed a pedagogical apprenticeship. Julia is an improvisor, and completed the People’s Improv Theater’s Improv Program. She was a founding member of the Funny School of Good Acting’s Commedia Company, and is a proud member of Actor’s Equity. She devises and performs her own material, and loves collaborating with other artists on smart, funny, and innovative theatre.
She currently teaches Physical Acting at New York University’s New Studio on Broadway in Tisch Drama, and has been on faculty at Pace University (Clown), at the National Theater Institute at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center (Clown and Le Jeu), and was a Visiting Assistant Professor of Theatre at Middlebury College (Clown, Creative Process, and Acting 1). She was Beanie Feldstein’s personal Clown Coach for the Broadway revival of Funny Girl.

Physical Comedy Bootcamp
2023-03-02 19:00 - 21:00
Join Joel Jeske for a monthly Physical Comedy Bootcamp!
WHAT: Each workshop will include a physical warmup and an opportunity to learn, practice, and share specific skills with the group. Each month will have a unique theme (wall hits, trips, hat tricks, etc.) The workshops are an introduction to technique, and all skill levels are welcome. This is not a series, so you can attend as few or as many as you’d like
ABOUT JOEL:
JOEL JESKE is a three-time Drama Desk nominated actor, writer, teacher, director, multi-disciplinary artist, and clown. He is the associate artistic director of the theater company Parallel Exit where he created and starred in Parallel Exit’s Off-Broadway hits THIS WAY/THAT WAY, CUT TO THE CHASE, ROOM 17B, EVERYBODY GETS CAKE, and most recently The ARTIST will be with you in a Moment. Internationally, Joel starred at the Apollo Variete in Dusseldorf, Germany, the Festival Der Traume in Innsbruck, Austria, the COS Festival in Reus, Spain, and was featured at the AEMI International Clown Festival in Shanghai and Hangzhou, China. Joel, along with Parallel Exit, toured Germany for two years performing their slapstick vaudeville EXIT! for the GOP Variete Theaters. As a clown, Joel starred and created clown acts for Ringling Bros, Cirque du Soleil, and The Big Apple Circus’s THE GRAND TOUR and 40th ANNIVERSARY. He has even traveled under the sea as the physical comedy consultant for SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS: The Broadway Musical.
WHEN: The first Thursday of January – May, 2023 from 7-9pm.
WHERE: Clinton Cameo Studios in Studio A, 307 W 43rd Street in Midtown Manhattan.
COVID PROTOCOLS: You must be vaccinated and BOOSTED against COVID-19 to attend Clown Gym. Plan to wear a mask the whole time and each group will decided the details of mask wearing for solo/duo/small group work. Please only attend if you feel well.
HOW MUCH: The sliding scale cost of each workshop is $25-$40. Payment is due a week before the workshop, details will be in your confirmation email.
We believe in accessibility and trust you to choose the amount you can afford for two hours of training.

Clown Jam with Tyler West
2023-02-22 19:00 - 22:00
On the last Wednesday of the month, workshop original material under the guidance of an experienced clown coach. The evening will begin with a warmup game and then each of the 5 act gets 30mins of “stage time” and coaching. You’re also welcome to audit the workshop, which is great way to learn tools to build successful material.
WHEN: Wednesday January 25, February 22, March 29, and April 26 from 7-10pm.
WHERE: Clinton Cameo Studios, 307 W 43rd Street in Midtown Manhattan.
COST: To workshop material, sliding scale you choose between $30-$50/ act.
To audit, sliding scale you choose between $10-$20/ session.
COVID PROTOCOLS: You must be vaccinated and BOOSTED against COVID-19 to attend Clown Gym. Plan to wear a mask the whole time. Presenters can share without a mask. Please only attend if you’re feeling well.

Advanced Bouffon: Unleash Your Folly with Sophie Amieva
2023-02-18 10:00 - 2023-02-19 17:00
Advanced Bouffon: Unleash Your Folly, Grotesque and the Mockery with Sophie Amieva
Feb 18 and 19 from 10-5pm (President’s Day Weekend)
Cost is on a sliding scale, you choose the amount between: $225-$300.
Clinton Cameo Studios, 307 W 43rd Street Studio A in midtown Manhattan.
Prerequisite: The January Weekend 1 with Sophie, prior bouffon experience, or extensive clown training. Questions? Email info@clowngym.com
WORKSHOP DESCRIPTION:
The Bouffons seduce the audience and hold a mirror to the underbelly of human greed, power, and sexuality. How do they speak such truth to power and make us laugh at the same time?
During these 2 days, we’ll address who’s in the room to set a foundation to play and then dig into the Bouffons realm. What is our own relationship to power?
How do we create the stylized mask realm? How to maintain presence and tension to keep the critique relevant? What is the game of the Bouffons?
Through mask skills and games we are looking to find the Folie (the madness) that makes performers unique and memorable. Be ready to be challenged, to shake your own ground, and to find the freedom to let go: you will be Magnifique!
ABOUT SOPHIE
Sophie Amieva is French and the artistic director and main producer of NotAmuse Theater, founded in 2016. Praised by the New York Times for “display[ing] a fine talent for comedy.” She studied at École Jacques Lecoq, the Samovar, Philippe Gaulier, and performed extensively in Europe with street performing troupe “la Grappe des Bouffons.” She has worked with many companies including La Rumeur Compagnie, Philippe Genty Compagnie, 600 Highwaymen, NTUSA, International Wow Company.
Sophie has taught in many professional acting studios and as adjunct professor at NYU Tisch School of the Arts, where she has taught Bouffon and clown for 15 years.
In the last 4 years, notamuse has focused on The Medusa Project, a body of work that revisits female monsters and aims to restore a thread between ancient benevolent beliefs around women while defying and rejecting over 4,000 years of patriarchal mythologies and moralities.

Bonus Clown Gym
2023-02-08 19:00 - 21:00, 2023-02-01 19:00 - 21:00
WHEN: Wednesdays February 1 and 8 from 7-9pm
WHAT: Each class features a warmup, group games and individual and/or small group exercises. Wear movement clothes, because we get sweaty. You must register in advance to attend Clown Gym.
WHO: All experience levels are welcome and encouraged. You’ll be challenged and have fun. See below for teachers, and follow along on Facebook or Instagram for updates.
COVID PROTOCOLS: You must be vaccinated and BOOSTED against COVID-19 to attend Clown Gym. Plan to wear a mask the whole time and we’ll decided week to week about the details of mask wearing for solo/duo/small group work. Please only attend if you’re feeling well.
WHERE: Clinton Cameo Studios in Studio A, 307 W 43rd Street in Midtown Manhattan.
HOW MUCH: The sliding scale cost of each workshop is $25-$40.
We believe in accessibility and trust you to choose the amount you can afford. Payment information is included in the reminder email, and is due by Monday before the workshop.

Physical Comedy Bootcamp
2023-02-02 19:00 - 21:00, 2023-01-05 19:00 - 21:00
Join Mariko Iwasa for a monthly Physical Comedy Bootcamp!
Mariko will share old school slapstick techniques sprinkled with a dash of Golden Age Hollywood theatrical dance.
WHAT: Each workshop will include a physical warmup and an opportunity to learn, practice, and share specific skills with the group. Each month will have a unique theme (wall hits, trips, hat tricks, etc.) The workshops are an introduction to technique, and all skill levels are welcome. This is not a series, so you can attend as few or as many as you’d like
ABOUT MARIKO IWASA:
Born and raised in Japan, Mariko Iwasa is a clown and physical comedian based in New York City. Raised with a healthy reverence for jazz, silent film, and all things classic—she toured with the Ringling Brothers Circus from 2012 to its final farewell in 2017. She won best supporting actress for her role as the lovable Snoopy in “A Charlie Brown Christmas” at the Syracuse Live Theater awards in 2019. Currently, she performs with Healthy Humor bringing smiles to the faces of families and children in hospitals around New York City as well as free public circus in the streets with the Bindlestiff Family Circus Flatbed Follies. She also performs her signature ninja and other characters for the nightly live improv show BATSU.
WHEN: The first Thursday of January – May, 2023 from 7-9pm.
WHERE: Clinton Cameo Studios in Studio A, 307 W 43rd Street in Midtown Manhattan.
COVID PROTOCOLS: You must be vaccinated and BOOSTED against COVID-19 to attend Clown Gym. Plan to wear a mask the whole time and each group will decided the details of mask wearing for solo/duo/small group work. Please only attend if you feel well.
HOW MUCH: The sliding scale cost of each workshop is $25-$40. Payment is due a week before the workshop, details will be in your confirmation email.
We believe in accessibility and trust you to choose the amount you can afford for two hours of training.

No Playing Allowed Here! a clown workshop with Michelle Matlock
2023-02-02 12:00 - 2023-02-04 19:00
No Playing Allowed Here! a clown workshop with Michelle Matlock
When: Thursday February 2, Friday February 3, and/or Saturday February 4th from 12-7pm. You can sign up for one, two, or all three days.
Where: Clinton Cameo Studios, 307 W 43rd Street Studio A in midtown Manhattan
Cost is on a sliding scale, you choose the amount: 1 day $125-$175, 2 days $225-$275, or $295-395 for the 21hour workshop.
WORKSHOP DESCRIPTION:
As a clown and a guide in clown workshops, my current mission is to find ways to decolonize the art form. What that means for me is that I am in a continuous and intentional process of rethinking how I approach clowning. Quite often it means unlearning and reinventing some of the techniques that I have been taught, changing the language that I use and sharing the unique experience that I bring to the art form. Ultimately, it is an emotional, intellectual and spiritual endeavor that involves centering myself as an African-American nonbinary woman and not allowing my work to be a performance tailored for the white, cisgendered male view. I invite all participants to think about what decolonization means to you and to join the conversation.
In this workshop we will examine traditional clown scenes, and use them to create something new and or evolved. We will devise and show each other clown stuff everyday. In addition to that challenge we will:
Relish in our joy
Find the pleasure in being present & expressing emotions
Identify when the pleasure is gone
Accept and love our own ridiculousness
Develop a fun connection with the audience
Celebrate our debacles and triumphs
Embrace the unknown in order to create something new
Laugh our pants off!
Michelle will guide the group through acting, improvisation and clowning exercises/games that will stimulate all of the above. Bring your clown nose or don’t.
Who is it for?
Actors, clowns, circus performers, singers, dancers, musicians, students, teachers, new and experienced players are welcome.
ABOUT MICHELLE
Michelle Matlock is a performing artist, teacher, producer, director and creative coach. Michelle had the pleasure of creating the role of “Ladybug” for Cirque du Soleil’s big top show OVO and she toured with that show for close to 10 years. Michelle spent 15 long years in NYC joyfully rolling around in the dust with Circus Amok, Bindlestiff Family Circus and Big Apple Circus Clown Care. Also, during that time period, Michelle developed and toured her critically acclaimed one person show “The Mammy Project” in venues all over North and South America. They are currently Adjunct Faculty at Dell’Arte International, Chief Equity Officer at Laughter League and lives in Tacoma Washington where she is on the creative team of Puget Sound Revels and Producer of the Tacoma Light Trail Performances. Michelle hates the taste of tomatoes but loves throwing them.

Clown Jam with Ralf Jean-Pierre
2023-01-25 19:00 - 22:00
On the last Wednesday of the month, workshop original material under the guidance of an experienced clown coach. The evening will begin with a warmup game and then each of the 5 act gets 30mins of “stage time” and coaching. You’re also welcome to audit the workshop, which is great way to learn tools to build successful material.
WHEN: Wednesday January 25, February 22, March 29, and April 26 from 7-10pm.
WHERE: Clinton Cameo Studios, 307 W 43rd Street in Midtown Manhattan.
COST: To workshop material, sliding scale you choose between $30-$50/ act.
To audit, sliding scale you choose between $10-$20/ session.
COVID PROTOCOLS: You must be vaccinated and BOOSTED against COVID-19 to attend Clown Gym. Plan to wear a mask the whole time. Presenters can share without a mask. Please only attend if you’re feeling well
